


Not Getting Over This

by aloevera



Category: 5 Seconds of Summer (Band)
Genre: Alcohol, Choking, F/M, luke's red nails should be a warning in and of themself
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-04-11
Updated: 2018-07-24
Packaged: 2019-04-21 17:33:18
Rating: Explicit
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 3
Words: 9,962
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/14289870
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/aloevera/pseuds/aloevera
Summary: Luke's rings/nails have everyone in their feels.





	1. Not Getting Over This

“Hypothetically speaking, how upset would you be if I just dumped my drink over his head and stormed out like a character from a late nineties teen drama?”

 

Calum glances up from his phone and follows your gaze across the room to where Luke stands, a grin on his face and a girl teetering on too-high platforms in front of him. “After I get done laughing? Not very,” Calum shrugs with a small grin as he shoves his phone in his pocket and reaches for his cup, “but you’d have to be able to reach his head to dump a drink over it.”

 

“I could knee him in the dick,” you point out as you take the cup from Calum’s hand and frown at the wave of alcohol that hits your nose, “fuck, this shit smells awful. How do any of you still have functioning livers?”

 

“I’m not sure we all do,” Calum shrugs as he watches you take a gulp of the hunch punch and wince, “and I’m sure you could get him on your level without kneeing him in the dick. You could always just throw your drink in his face, no need to dump it over his head.” He pauses for a moment before he eyes you and raises an eyebrow, “What’d he do this time, anyway?”

 

“I just don’t think he knows how to _not_ be a dick,” you inform Calum as your grip tightens on his cup, “like, I try really hard to be nice to him because you all seem to think the sun shines out of his ass but he’s so antagonizing and patronizing and every other kind of ‘izing’ you can think of!” When Calum laughs, you roll your eyes and huff. “I’m being dead serious, Cal! Every time I try to start a normal, casual conversation with him he goes out of his way to act like he’s better than me. He knows exactly the right buttons to push, the right words to get under my skin, and I’m beyond annoyed. I’m fucking pissed. He’s such a jackass and I kind of want to punch him in the nose.”

 

Calum sighs at your words and reaches for the cup in your hands. “You should probably ease up,” he informs you before he drains the rest of the cup, “I don’t want you getting drunk and actually breaking Luke’s nose. Management tells us we need him.”

 

“Not helping, Cal,” you grumble as you shift to lean into his side and rest your head on his shoulder. “Why does he hate me? Like, I get that there are people you just don’t like sometimes but he doesn’t even _know_ me. You and I are best friends. I feel like I deserve a chance.”

 

“I know,” Calum assures you with a sigh, “Honestly, none of us know. He’s not usually like this.”

 

“That’s what you all keep saying,” you pout before you shake your head and pat Calum’s leg. “I’m gonna go get a drink. I don’t want to sit here and be upset about things I can’t change. ‘Sides, we’re supposed to be celebrating. I’m just bumming you out.”

 

“You never bum me out,” he assures you, “I’m here to listen, you know that. But if you want to make it up to me, you could always grab me another drink while you’re in the kitchen.”

 

“See, we’re not actually friends. You’re just using me as a waitress, aren’t you?” You accuse with a laugh as you stand. Before Calum can playfully protest, you ruffle his hair and step around the couch as you call, “I’ll be back. Try not to have too much fun without me!”

 

You keep your eyes focused on the bowl of overwhelmingly alcoholic punch in front of you as you reach behind it to grab a cup for Calum and a bottle of water for yourself but before you can ladle any of the noxious mixture, you hear the sound of shoes entering the kitchen and the last person you want to spend your night with speak.

 

“What, done drinking already? Can’t handle your alcohol?” Luke questions with a sneer as he leans against the kitchen counter.

 

“I could drink you under a table, Hemmings,” you huff with a roll of your eyes, “but Cal made a great point. If I keep drinking, I might fulfill one of my many fantasies involving you.”

 

Luke’s eyebrows raise at that and he smirks at you. “Yeah?” He questions, “And what might those fantasies be?”

 

“Oh, you know,” you shrug, “pouring a drink over your head, splashing a drink in your face, telling that girl that’s been flirting with you that you can’t get it up; fun stuff like that.”

 

Luke rolls his eyes at your words and pushes himself away from the counter to close the small gap between the two of you. One of his hands rests at your hip while the other grips your chin and forces you to face him. “Does that feel like I can’t get it up?” he questions as he presses himself close enough for you to feel his hardened length.

 

Your thoughts splinter for a moment as you glare at Luke. Part of you, the part that has conceded that Luke is incredibly attractive, wants to see how far this will go. That part of you wants to see if Luke will push any farther, tighten his grip on your hip enough to leave a bruise or decorate your skin with hickeys, but the sensible part of you pushes your lust down before it can get a grip on you. The part that is annoyed with Luke’s constant patronizing, his constant antagonizing, his constant jabs and glares and _fucking smirks_ ; that part tells you to knee him in the dick and return to Calum.

 

Instead, you roll your eyes and shift in his grip to shrug off his hands. “Wouldn’t know,” you shrug as you reach behind yourself to grab the cup and bottle, “You’d think for someone so cocky you’d have a little more, I don’t know, _cock_ to back it up. But remember, Luke, it’s about how you use it. Not how big it is. Enjoy your night!”

 

You hear Luke stomping through the living room behind you but pay him no mind as you return to Calum and hand him his cup. You roll your eyes at the confused look on Calum’s face but before you can tell him that Luke’s just being a dick, as per usual, Luke’s hand wraps around your wrist and he all but drags you up the stairs after him.

 

Luke doesn’t give you a chance to ask him _what the fuck_ he thinks he’s doing or question his sanity as he enters his room and shoves you against the closed bedroom door. His hands splay across the lower portion of your face and slightly across the sides of your throat to hold your head in place as he leans in to crush his lips against yours. You pause for a moment, stunned at the feeling of his lips on yours, when a nip to your bottom lip pulls you back into the moment.

 

Your fingers tangle in Luke’s hair as you shiver at the feeling of his rings against your skin. He groans as you tug a little harder than you knew you should and pulls back, chest heaving and eyes narrowed. “Don’t be a bitch,” he snaps as he tightens his grip and turns your head so that he can nip at your collarbone.

 

“Don’t be a dick, then,” you huff as you squirm in his grip. “What the fuck are you doing, Luke? Shouldn’t you be doing this with that blonde chick downstairs?”

 

“Do you want me to stop?” He questions as he pulls back enough to look at your face.

 

“I kind of hate you,” you inform him with a roll of your eyes, “you know that, right?”

 

“I didn’t ask if you liked me,” Luke grunts as he shifts, “I asked if you wanted me to stop.”

 

You take a moment to let yourself think about whether or not this is a good idea and the rational part of your brain is screaming that it’s not. The other part, the one fueled by lust and stupid decisions shrugs, tells you that it’s not going to make matters any worse, and tells you to go for it.

 

Luke is expecting you to push him away, tell him to go fuck himself, but he’s pleasantly surprised when you roll your eyes and tug at his hair once more. “No,” you huff as you shift in his grip, “don’t stop.”

 

You half-expect him to laugh, to step away and tell you that it was all some sort of joke but he doesn’t. Instead, Luke turns your head to face him once more and reattaches your lips in a heated kiss. This time, you’re prepared for the feeling of Luke’s lips against yours and the feeling of his hands on your skin. As his fingers trail down the column of your throat, nails scraping slightly against your skin, your own fingers tug at his hair. He moves his leg to kick your feet apart and wedges his knee between your thighs.

 

Luke’s hands move to the hem of your skirt as he dips his head and attaches his lips to the column of your throat. You know that there will be marks tomorrow, you know that he won’t stop with just one, but as his teeth scrape across your skin and his hands shove the material of your skirt up around your waist, you can’t really bring yourself to care. Instead, you bring your hands to the buttons of his shirt and work quickly to remove the offending item.

 

As you focus on the buttons of his shirt, Luke shifts so that his knee is pressed against your covered heat. When you begin to move your hips, Luke groans and lifts his head to capture your lips once more. His hands grip your hips, his blunt nails digging into your skin, and you can’t stop the words that you breathe against his mouth.

 

“I love when you paint your nails,” you admit as he bounces his knee and helps you grind down harder, “it looks so good on you.”

 

Luke is surprised at your admission but smirks and moves one hand beneath the hem of your top, “Yeah? You think about my hands a lot, babe?”

 

“Fuck off,” you breathe as you allow your head to loll back and hit the wooden door, “can’t be nice to you.”

 

“You’re still being nice to me,” Luke laughs as he moves his leg and presses you closer to the wall. His fingers grip the waistband of your panties and tugs the material down to pool at your feet before he steps closer and slips his hand between your thighs. “You’re being so nice to me, babe,” he breathes as his fingers swipe at your slit, “letting me do whatever I want to you. Letting me fuck you when all our friends are downstairs. I don’t think you could get any nicer.”

 

“You’re - oh, fuck,” you breathe as Luke’s thumb brushes your clit before he slips a finger into your entrance, “fuck, you’re such a dick.”

 

Instead of responding verbally, Luke rolls his eyes and returns his face to the crook of your neck where he leaves another mark as his fingers work you open. When he feels your thighs begin to shake, Luke begins to pull away and move the two of you to his bed but is stopped by your fingers at his belt buckle. It only takes a moment for you to unbutton and unzip his jeans enough to shove the offending material down and you almost roll your eyes when you notice that he’s gone without underwear.

 

“Why am I not surprised?” You breathe as you allow Luke to step away and retrieve a condom from his nightstand.

 

“Shut up,” he huffs as he rips open the foil and glances back at you, “you coming over here?”

 

“Thought you could properly hate fuck me, against a wall and loud enough to wake the neighbors,” you shrug as you shift away from the door and press your back against the cool wall.

 

“I’m fine with that,” Luke assures you as he returns to his position in front of you and crowds you against the wall. Before you can retort, Luke’s lips are on yours once more and his fingers are digging into your hipbone as he runs the tip of his cock along your slit. He gives you no room to argue, no chance to pull away and tell him to get on with it, as he takes his time. He wastes a good thirty seconds teasing you before he enters you to the hilt.

 

As your hands grip his biceps, nails digging into his skin, one of his hands grips your hip while the other returns to your jaw and holds you in place as he gives an experimental shift. “You good?” He questions as you break the kiss, chest heaving and eyes clenched shut.

 

“Yeah, yeah,” you breathe, “move, fuck, just move.”

 

Luke obliges your request and snaps his hips into yours. He watches your face as your head lolls back to hit the wall and he can’t help the smirk that covers his lips. “You might hate me,” he breathes as he slams his hips into yours and watches your mouth fall open in a moan, “but you seem to fucking love my cock.”

 

“Shut up, Luke,” you breathe as your hands move to grip his shoulders.

 

“Admit it,” he demands as he slows his pace and moves his hand down to rest at the base of your throat, his fingers barely placing any pressure there, “admit that you love my cock and I’ll give you what you want.”

 

“Come on, Luke,” you whine as you attempt to grind your hips against him, “fucking move.”

 

His fingers apply a little more pressure and you whine at the feeling of his rings pressing into your skin. “That’s not what I wanted to hear, babe,” he breathes as he leans in to brush his lips against yours. “Just say it and I’ll move, yeah?”

 

“Fuck, fine, I fucking love your cock, Luke,” you whimper as he grips at your hip, “feels so good.”

 

With a smirk, Luke follows through with his promise and returns to his previous pace. You want to cry at the feeling of his hips snapping harshly against yours and his hand wrapped around your throat but you can’t seem to get any noise past your lips as you imagine what you both must look like. You can’t see Luke’s hand around your throat but the mental image of his bright red nails and his fingers styled with rings pressing against your hickey covered skin combined with the feeling of Luke’s hand moving to your clit has your eyes rolling back and your hands moving to tug harshly at his hair.

 

Luke watches as you fall apart beneath him and groans when he feels you clench around his cock. “Come on, babe,” he breathes as his thumb rubs tight circles across your clit, “cum for me. Show me how much you love my cock.”

 

Luke watches as you reach your peak with a cry of his name and struggles to keep his rhythm as you clench around his cock. You can feel him getting closer, his pace getting quicker and his thrusts getting sloppier. It doesn’t take him much longer to fall over the edge with a grunt of your name and you feel him crowd even closer to you. It’s only when your hand moves up to pry his fingers away from your throat that Luke’s eyes snap open and he glances down at you.

 

“Fuck,” he breathes as he takes in the state of your neck, your skewed top, your bunched up skirt, and the panties still caught around one of your ankles, “fuck, are you okay?”

 

“Yeah,” you breathe, your head still pressed against the wall and your eyes still clenched shut, “‘m fine.”

 

Luke’s hand is much more gentle than you expected it to be as he brushes his fingers over the marks on your throat left by his hands and he bites his lip. “It looks like it’s gonna bruise,” he breathes with a frown. “I’m sorry.”

 

When you fix him with a look, Luke moves to help you tug your underwear back up and fix your skirt. “Don’t be,” you shrug as you take a moment to regain your balance without the help of the wall. “It’s whatever, makeup can cover it.” Luke looks like he’s going to say something else when you raise an eyebrow at him. “What’s it to you, anyway? We fucked, isn’t that all you wanted?”

 

Luke opens his mouth to respond but quickly closes it and shrugs at you. With a roll of your eyes, you grab your phone and run a hand through your hair. “I’m gonna head home. Don’t really want anyone to ask any questions,” you shrug as you turn to leave his room.

 

“I’ll take you,” Luke offers as he reaches for his keys.

 

“You’ve been drinking that hunch punch all night, Hemmings,” you laugh as you shake your head, “I’ll be fine. I’ll call a cab or something. See ya, Luke.”

 

Before he can stop you, you’re stepping out of his bedroom and rejoining the fray of the party. Luke groans as he runs a hand through his hair and chastises himself for letting you walk away. He hadn’t intended for the night to turn out this way, he sure as hell hadn’t intended to fuck you with a living room full of people beneath the two of you, and he never intended to let you walk away. But as he falls to his bed, his shirt still unbuttoned and smears of your lipstick on his face, he realizes that he doesn’t really know how he’ll be able to get you to come back.


	2. Crush On You

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Luke realizes why he's been such a dick.

“Listen, if you don’t quit with the knocking then I’m going to call the cops. It’s four in the fucking - Luke? What are you doing here?”

 

Luke shifts his weight from one foot to the other as he quickly shoves his hands in his pockets and smiles sheepishly. His eyes linger on your neck for a moment, noting that the marks he’d left only hours ago are more obvious than when you’d left him, before he meets your eyes. “I, uh, don’t really know? I wanted to talk, I guess. It seemed like a good idea when I left the party.”

 

“Did you drive here?” you question, your eyes narrowing and your arms crossing over your chest as you take in his flushed cheeks and messy hair.

 

“No,” he scoffs, hand reaching out to grip your doorframe for balance, “what do you think I am, a fucking idiot?” He catches sight of the look on your face and shakes his head before he sighs, “No, I gave the guy your address before I could really think about it and here I am.”

 

You stare at Luke for a moment, weighing your options, before you open your front door wide enough to let him. “Come in, I guess. I’ll get you some coffee or something,” you sigh as you lock the door behind Luke and step around him to enter the kitchen. “Don’t puke in my living room, yeah? The bathroom’s down the hall and on the right.”

 

Luke settles into the cushions of your couch and soaks in the undeniable feeling of _you_ that encompasses the space. Your living room is exactly as he’d imagined it would be, exactly as he’d seen in snaps from the others, and he frowns at the pang in his chest that feels an awful lot like melancholy as his eyes land on a photo of you with Michael, Calum, and Ashton; no trace of him to be found.

 

He watches as you return to the living room, a cup of coffee and two bottles of water in hand. The alcohol has turned his thoughts to a muddled mess, scattered his emotions all over the place, but it has sharpened the pang he often feels in his chest whenever you’re around. And before he can stop himself, he asks, “Why’d you let me in?”

 

His chest tightens when you take a seat on the couch far enough away that Luke gets the idea, even in his drunken stupor, and he watches as you seem to consider your words for a brief moment before you decide that it doesn’t matter. Instead of sugarcoating it, you answer honestly.

 

“I would’ve left you in the hall to call a cab but my neighbor wakes up with the fucking sun and I didn’t want her seeing you out in the hall. She’ll think you tried to kill me or something if she sees you. She saw my neck earlier, she was spying on me when I came back, and now she thinks I’m in trouble or something. I just didn’t want her to call the cops on you,” you answer with a shrug as you lay your head on the back of the couch and glance over at Luke.

 

Luke’s eyes are red, much more so than they were earlier in the night, and his cheeks are flushed a pale pink. His hair is a curly mass, sticking up in places where you’d harshly tugged at the strands, and you can’t help but frown. “Seriously, Luke,” you question quietly, “what are you doing here? You left a party, at your house, to come to mine at four in the morning.” You pause for a moment, debating biting your tongue, before you sigh and point out, “You know this is the first time you’ve ever been here, right?”

 

Luke rolls his eyes at your question and throws his head back against the cushions as he takes a deep breath. “I know,” he sighs, as if it pains him not to snap a sarcastic comment back at you, “I know. I just felt like we needed to talk.”

 

“It couldn’t have waited until a normal hour when you’re not drunk off your ass?” you question, an eyebrow raised as you allow your eyes to linger over Luke’s disheveled form once more.

 

“No,” Luke grunts as he closes his eyes and shakes his head. “It’s easier to talk to you when I’m drunk.” He pauses for a moment as if he’s gathering his thoughts and shakes his head once more.

 

“I don’t know what it is about you,” he breathes, “Everything you do drives me insane. When we first met, I really wanted to like you. _I did like you!_ You were so nice and pretty and funny. I thought you were amazing. But the guys loved you. They thought you were perfect and they just fell all over you, trying to impress you and be your best friend. You all hit it off right away and, I don’t know. Something about you drove me insane and I felt annoyed every time I looked at you. Like, I’d be in such a good mood and then you’d come in laughing with one of the guys and my mood just fell. I think it was jealousy at first. I was jealous you hit it off better with them than you did with me. It was always sort of awkward when it was just us. And then it just became second nature to snap at you, to take my frustration out on you.”

 

Luke pauses for a moment as he opens his eyes and turns his head to glance at you. “It’s not fair to you, though. You keep trying to be nice to me, to be my friend, and I keep being a dick,” he sighs before he frowns and sits up to face you. “This is the first time we’ve seen each other in four months,” he points out quietly, “Cal told me you stopped coming to stuff if you knew I’d be there and I’m sorry. The guys are still your friends and you should be able to hang out with them without worrying about me being a dick to you. I don’t know what to say other than _I’m sorry_.”

 

Luke watches as you sit frozen, eyes blinking and mouth slightly open. He wants to urge you to speak, to ask you to yell at him or tell him to fuck off, but you don’t. Instead, you shake your head as if to clear it and gather the now cold coffee from the table. “I’ll get you a pillow and some blankets,” you inform him quietly as you stand from the couch, “You can sleep it off here and head home in the morning. I’ll let one of the guys know you’re here because you probably forgot to tell anyone where you were going.”

 

“Wait,” he almost shouts as he scrambles up from his position on the couch and reaches for your wrist, “aren’t you going to say something?”

 

“What do you want me to say, Luke?” you question, “That the past few years of your bullshit I’ve dealt with is forgotten because you apologized? I appreciate it, Luke, but sometimes an apology isn’t enough. And you’re off your ass drunk. How do I know that this is even genuine?” You pause for a moment before you pull your wrist from Luke’s hand and shake your head. “If you’re still here in the morning and you want to talk, we’ll talk. For now, just get some sleep. I’ll bring you some blankets and a pillow.”

 

Luke watches in dejected silence as you gather an extra blanket and pillow from your bedroom. When you hand them over, he whispers a ‘thank you’ so quiet that he’s not sure you’ve heard him but when you nod, a hint of a frown on your lips, he knows that you did. When you leave the living room, turning lights off behind you, Luke stretches out as best as he can on your couch and stares up at the ceiling. He wracks his brain for a reason, any reason at all, that could justify the way he’s treated you and he hopes that the answer he finds will be enough to convince you to give him another chance.

 

—-

 

When he wakes, Luke realizes that he isn’t in his bed. Nor is he on his couch. He vaguely recognizes the layout of the living room he’s occupying but wherever he is doesn’t matter much to him as he catches sight of the bottle of water and painkillers on the coffee table in front of him. He breathes a quiet sigh of relief as he grabs the two and it’s only when he sits up that he realizes exactly where he is.

 

“Fuck,” he breathes as he glances over to find you sitting in the kitchen, textbook spread open on the bar in front of you, “I fucked up.”

 

“I’d love to be snarky and respond with, “What’s new?” but I’m not going to be the one to start that game today,” you hum as you finish highlighting a section in your book. “How’s the hangover?”

 

“Not great but not as bad as it could be, I guess,” Luke sighs as he takes in the full extent of you.

 

It’s rare to see you completely dressed down, in pajamas with messy hair and completely unprepared for whatever spontaneous adventure awaits, but Luke finds that he likes this side of you. He likes seeing you dressed in a too-big t-shirt and slightly unguarded. It suits you. But what doesn’t suit you, he finds, are the bruises at your neck.

 

“I’m sorry,” he breathes when he realizes he’s been staring, “about your neck.”

 

“No worries,” you shrug, “I know how to manipulate concealer.”

 

Luke hesitates for a moment before he runs a hand through his hair and stands from the couch to step a little closer to you. “I’m sorry about everything else, too,” he sighs as he slowly makes his way into the kitchen. When he hesitantly reaches for the chair beside you, you nod and he lets out a breath he didn’t realize he was holding. “Last night, when I apologized, I was being sincere.”

 

“You remember that?”

 

“Yeah,” he nods before he sheepishly admits, “I didn’t drink much more after you left. I was drunk but not that drunk. I know an apology isn’t the final step here but I hope it’s a start.”

 

Luke wants to shrink away from the intensity of your gaze, to hide himself from your scrutiny, but he wills himself to remain strong when you search his face for any flicker of insincerity. When you nod, he can’t help the small smile that twitches his lips. “I keep trying because I want to give you a fair shot, Luke,” you sigh as you finally drop your textbook and turn your full attention to Luke, “an apology isn’t the be all, end all but it is a start. Thank you.”

 

“I promise I’ll try not to be such a dick to you,” he rushes before you can change your mind, “and I won’t take my frustration out on you because it’s the easy way out. I, uh, I have another confession but I think it might piss you off so we could totally try being friends before I spring it on you.”

 

“I’d rather get all of my anger out at once,” you shrug.

 

“Fair enough,” Luke sighs. “I figured out what the jealousy was about. It wasn’t just me being jealous that you hit it off with the guys more than me. It was that you and Cal were so cuddly and you and Mikey went out all the time. It was you and Ashton going to those shows together. It was you hanging out with them one on one when I wanted to hang out with you alone. I guess I had a sort of crush on you that never really went away?”

 

“Luke, if this is some cliche, you bully me because you like me, bullshit then I will fight you,” you warn as you stand from your chair.

 

“Does it count if I didn’t realize I had a crush on you until last night?” he questions, looking as sheepish as ever.

 

“Dammit, Luke,” you huff, “fine, okay. You like me. That’s fine. I don’t hate you so we’re off to a good start. I’m not going to tell you that I’ll grow to like you or that we’ll end up being anything more than acquaintances but I’m willing to start by trying to be friends with you.”

 

“I’m willing to start there,” Luke accepts readily, “I know it’ll take a while to get to a decent place. It’s habit for us to yell at each other or avoid each other. Friends first is a good idea.” When you nod at Luke’s words, he stands from his own chair and smiles at you. “Awesome,” he breathes, “great. I’m going to go home because I smell awful but do you want to hang out later? As friends. Or acquaintances trying to get to know each other better. We could watch a movie or something.”

 

“Sure,” you agree, “hanging out sounds nice. You can come back here, if you want. I feel like you’ll like Santa Clarita Diet and, I mean, I wouldn’t have to even attempt to cover up my neck.”

 

“It’s a date,” Luke nods with a grin before he shakes his head and laughs, “not a date, as in a date, but it’s happening. I’ll be back, yeah?”

 

“Yeah,” you laugh, genuinely amused at Luke’s change in behavior, “I get it. I’ll see you in a few hours, then?”

 

“For sure,” he nods, “I’ll be back and we’ll get pizza and we can be friends. But I feel like I should warn you now, if you’re anything like the guys tell me you are, then I’m absolutely not getting over this crush on you.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I'm moving my work over from Tumblr!


	3. Infinite

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> After months of friendship, it's time to give a relationship a shot.

“Honestly, I don’t think I’ve ever been this emotional over a movie.”

 

You hear murmurs of agreement coming from the group behind you as you all step out of the theater and into the night air. Some members of the group are engaged in conversations about their favorite and least favorite parts of the film as others lament the happenings of the film and you try your hardest to focus on it all before giving up and turning your attention to Calum.

 

You watch as he shakes his head, pulls his pack of cigarettes from his pocket, and flicks the lighter. “Listen, I’m not nearly as into this shit as you guys but, honestly, that was fucked up,” he breathes around his cigarette as the orange glow illuminates his face, “like, really fucked up.”

 

Michael, who has been uncharacteristically quiet since the opening credits rolled, whines pitifully as he wraps his arms around your waist and buries his face in the crook of your neck. “It was so fucked up,” he whines in agreement, “and now we have to wait a whole year! I can’t do that. I need resolution now!”

 

You laugh and begin to rub soothing circles against the fabric of Michael’s flannel as Calum shakes his head. He watches the two of you for a moment before he turns his gaze to Luke. Just as he expected to find, Luke’s eyes are glued to you and Michael and his lips are curved into a frown. His hands are stuffed into the pockets of his jeans and he looks as if he’s struggling to control himself. Calum can tell that Luke wants to interrupt the physical contact between you and Michael but he can’t tell why.

 

Luke watching you intently and growing agitated any time someone put their hands on you has been a recurring theme since the party at his place. Calum initially brushed it off as the two of you being yourselves, Luke had always been agitated with your presence and with the boys for encouraging it, but he notices that it’s different now. You and Luke haven’t snapped at each other since the party, neither of you have purposely avoided nights out because the other would be there, and you’d even invited Luke to movie night at your place despite once swearing that he’d never be allowed to step foot in your apartment.

 

Calum doesn’t like getting involved in situations he doesn’t belong in but you and Luke are two of his best friends. He doesn’t want to see either of you hurt and he knows that if Luke has to stand and watch you and Michael any longer, he might do something he regrets. So, after dropping his cigarette to the ground and stomping it out, he grabs Luke by the arm and begins pulling him away from the group.

 

“Where are you guys going?” Ashton calls as he watches Calum pull a confused and slightly irritated Luke away from the group, “We’re about to go get food!”

 

“Go ahead,” Calum calls with a wave of his hand, “we’ll be there in a second.”

 

“Doesn’t answer my question,” Ashton calls back with a laugh as Calum flips him off and continues to move farther away with Luke in tow.

 

When the two are safely away from the group, Calum lets go of Luke and raises an eyebrow. “Okay,” he sighs, “I know it’s none of my business but what’s up, man? You and her have been weird since the party. What the hell happened that night, anyway? You both disappeared.”

 

Luke hesitates for a moment, debating on whether or not to tell Calum what happened, before he sighs and moves to sit down on the sidewalk. Calum follows suit and watches as Luke shakes his head. “A lot happened that night,” he shrugs as he picks at a string on his t-shirt, “it was an eventful night.”

 

“Luke,” he huffs, “cut the bullshit. You’re acting like a jealous boyfriend any time someone even looks at her. You guys go from attacking one another for years to acting like friends in a matter of months. What happened?”

 

“We fucked,” Luke sighs and averts his gaze when Calum’s eyes widen at the information. Before he can ask, Luke continues. “We were arguing and she said something and it pissed me off. Next thing I know, we’ve fucked and she’s leaving. When I disappeared, I went to her place. I felt like I needed to talk to her, you know? And I ended up crashing on her couch. We talked the next morning and we’ve been hanging out since.”

 

“Wait, you guys have been hanging out without us?” Calum questions, barely able to wrap his mind around the fact that the two of you can speak without fighting.

 

“Yeah,” Luke nods, “just, getting to know each other, you know? We’ve been around one another for years but we knew nothing about each other. So, we’ve been trying to be friends.”

 

“Okay,” Calum nods, “that’s good, though. It sucked that the two of you were always at each other’s throats. That explains you guys not trying to kill one another and you being invited to movie night at her place. But what’s with the jealous boyfriend act, man? If looks could kill, Michael would be dead by now. It’s not just because you guys fucked, is it?”

 

At this, Luke hesitates. He doesn’t know whether to tell Calum the truth or deny the fact that he has, indeed, been acting like a jealous boyfriend. The longer he weighs his options, the more Luke realizes that he’s going to have to come clean some day. So, with a sigh, he tells Calum, “I, uh, I have feelings for her.”

 

“You what?” Calum questions, his eyes widening. “Dude. What the fuck?”

 

“I know,” Luke whines as he drops his head to his hands, “I know. I was a dick for so long because I was jealous of her relationship with you guys. It was shitty of me, I know. We’ve talked about it. I’ve apologized. I didn’t realize it until that night and, I don’t know, she agreed to try being friends first and the more I hang out with her, the harder I fall. I told her I wasn’t going to get over this crush on her but I don’t think she believed me. Now, here I am, acting like a jealous boyfriend even though I have no right to. Please tell me it’s just you that’s noticed.”

 

“No,” Calum sighs with a shake of his head, “Ash has noticed, too. Michael hasn’t but if you keep glaring at him, I’m sure he will. Have you guys talked about your feelings since that night or are you still trying the friends thing?”

 

“We’re just trying the friend thing,” Luke sighs as he watches Calum light another cigarette, “I don’t want to push, you know? I’m just so glad she’s giving me another chance that I don’t want to fuck up.”

 

“You need to talk to her,” Calum tells him as he stands from the sidewalk, “you need to tell her how you feel and see where she’s at. And you need to do it soon.”

 

Luke says nothing but follows Calum’s lead and stands from his position on the sidewalk. The two of them walk to the restaurant by the movie theater in silence, Calum in a state of disbelief and Luke weighing his options. He knows that he needs to tell you, knows that you need to know, but he doesn’t want to ruin whatever good thing the two of you have going on.

 

Since the day after the party, you and Luke have been hanging out more and more. He’s spent nights on your couch, watching chick flicks and stuffing his face with pizza, just as you’ve spent nights on his, drinking and playing with Petunia. He’s certain that the two of you are past the phase of acquaintanceship and settled into full on friendship by now but he’s not sure where you stand in terms of romance. He knows that you haven’t gone out with anyone since the two of you started spending more time together and neither has he.

 

He knows that he’s waiting for you but he can’t tell if you’re waiting for him.

 

But as he and Calum enter the restaurant and he finds an open seat on either side of you, he feels a glimmer of hope in the pit of his stomach. When he takes a seat beside you, his knee brushes yours and you shoot him a smile. Luke can feel his heartbeat begin to race at the simple gesture and his mind is made up for him.

 

When the others are distracted by conversation, Luke gently nudges your side. “Do you want to come over later?” he questions, his voice quiet. “Petunia misses you,” he adds quickly, shooting you what he hopes looks like a genuine smile.

 

“Of course,” you nod happily, “I miss her, too. We stopping to get alcohol or are we doing this without killing our livers tonight?”

 

Luke laughs at your question and shakes his head. “No liver death tonight,” he decides, wanting you to fully believe every word that passes his lips, “just hanging out. Is that okay?”

 

“Definitely,” you agree with a smile and Luke can’t help the grin that quirks his lips. The two of you are caught up in each other for a moment, lost in your own little world, before Calum clears his throat and the two of you divert your attention back to the rest of the group.

 

“All good?” Calum questions, his eyes flickering between you and Luke for a moment before settling on you.

 

“Never better, Cal,” you hum, “never better.”

 

Not wanting to press either of you, Calum pulls you into the conversation and Luke is thankful.

 

Following your conversation with Luke, the rest of the night passes fairly slowly. You find yourself ready to unwind with a long conversation on his couch, Petunia curled up between the two of you and a quiet playlist in the background. Spending time with Luke has become second nature to you and, although it had been weird at first, you wouldn’t change it. The two of you certainly hadn’t gotten off on the right foot but since he’s been trying, you can see why the boys always spoke so highly of him. You’d always agreed that he was gorgeous but over the past few months you’ve found that he’s intelligent, compassionate, and absolutely hilarious, as well.

 

He’s almost too good to be true and you can’t help wondering if everything that you’re building is going to come crashing down around you.

 

But before you have enough down time to dwell on the possibilities, the night is ending and all of your friends are piling into their cars. Calum, who you’d ridden to the theater with, watches as you linger close to Luke and he wants to roll his eyes but restrains himself. “Are you riding with me?” he questions, although he already knows the answer.

 

“I’ll get her home,” Luke answers for you, his gaze shifting to you in the hope that he hasn’t overstepped his bounds.

 

Calum glances at you for confirmation and when you nod, he mimics your action and pulls you into a quick hug. “I’ll see you later, then,” he hums before he mumbles a quick, “Call me later,” in your ear.

 

You and Luke wave Calum off before you turn to one another, a somewhat awkward silence falling over the two of you. “Uh, guess we should head to my place now?” Luke breathes, his gaze moving from your face to his car as he pulls his keys from his pocket.

 

“Yeah, your place,” you nod before you venture toward his car.

 

The ride to his place is quiet, the only sound coming from the radio, and it feels strange. Luke is nervous, his heart feels like it’s going to beat out of his chest, and you’re catching onto his nerves. By the time you settle onto his couch, your heart also feels as if it’s beating a million miles a minute.

 

“So,” you begin as you reach for Petunia, “what are we discussing tonight? Aliens, government conspiracies, sixties sci-fi?”

 

Luke hesitates for a moment before he shrugs and averts his gaze to the couch. “I was thinking something a little more serious,” he begins quietly, “something like us?”

 

“Oh,” you breathe, pausing in your movements, “uh, yeah. Okay, let’s talk about us.”

 

Luke is quiet for a moment before he runs a hand through his hair and shakes his head. “I don’t want to push,” he begins quietly, “and I don’t want you to think that being friends hasn’t been great, because it has, but I was serious when I said that I wouldn’t get getting over my crush on you. Spending time with you has made it so much worse. At first, I just thought you were pretty and I liked the shallow stuff. Now, I like everything about you. I keep hoping that you’re feeling something more than friendship for me and sometimes I feel like I can see that you do but then you hug Michael or sit on Calum’s lap or tease Ashton and then I’m not so sure. So, I guess I just wanted to see where you were, you know? If you’re waiting for me like I’m waiting for you or if this is all you want for us.”

 

“You’re waiting for me?” you question quietly, “What do you mean?”

 

“I mean, I haven’t been with anyone since the party. I’ve been spending all my free time with you,” Luke shrugs, “and, I mean, I wouldn’t change it. It’s fine if you have been with someone else, you know? We’re not together. I was just, curious, I guess.”

 

“I haven’t,” you answer, a little too quickly, “I’ve been spending all my free time with you, too. And I’ve thought about us.”

 

“You have?” Luke questions, his eyes widening, “What have you thought about?”

 

“I’ve thought about how easy it is with you, how we can talk for hours and never get bored. I’ve thought about how similar we are and how, even though we have some fundamental differences, we can already compromise so well,” you explain before you pause. Luke watches patiently as you debate sharing your next sentence but when you open your mouth to speak, he’s never been more anxious to hear you share your thoughts. “I’ve thought about how well we work together. I don’t know if it’ll be as easy being a couple but spending these past few months with you has made me want to try.”

 

Luke blinks, surprised at the admission, but can’t stop a small smile from turning up the corners of his mouth. He shuffles forward slightly, nudging Petunia out of the way so that his knee brushes yours, and reaches for your hand. “So, hypothetically,” he begins as his fingers tangle with yours, “if I asked you on a date, would you say yes?”

 

“Hypothetically?” You question, your tone slightly teasing and your own grin growing. When Luke nods, you mimic his movement and hum, “Yeah, hypothetically, I would.”

 

The two of you sit in silence for a moment, grinning at one another and soaking in the feelings now exposed, before Luke brings his free hand to cup your cheek. “How about if I really asked you out on a date?” he questions, “Maybe, tomorrow night at seven?”

 

“I’d say yes,” you affirm, your voice dropping to a whisper as Luke leans in a little closer.

 

“Then, would you go on a date with me tomorrow night?” he asks, his own voice lowering to match yours.

 

“Yeah,” you nod, your eyes meeting his, “I’d like that.”

 

Luke grins at your response as he moves a little closer to you. You can feel his breath fanning across your lips and your eyes are threatening to flutter closed before you hear him whisper, “Can I kiss you?”

 

When you breathe an affirmative, Luke closes the gap between the two of you and presses his lips to yours in a gentle kiss. The kiss is unlike any shared between the two of you the night of the party and you feel yourself melting into it as Luke’s fingers brush across your cheekbones. The hand intertwined with your own squeezes gently before he pulls away and rests his forehead against yours.

 

“That was really nice,” he breathes, his cheeks flushing a faint pink.

 

You hum your agreement as you mimic his posture and bring your free hand up to cup his cheek. “You’re really cute,” you whisper, your eyes finding his once more.

 

Luke laughs at the compliment but leans in to press a quick peck to your lips before he mumbles a thank you. “Not as cute as you, though,” he returns and you almost want to playfully smack his chest for being so cheesy but you can’t bring yourself to ruin the moment. Instead, you grin at him and settle into the silence.

 

The two of you sit there, lost in one another, for what feels like ages but is in reality only a few minutes. You debate pulling away and heading home before you can do something that you regret but you know that, by now, you don’t really regret much that comes with Luke. So, instead, you lean forward and press your lips to his once more.

 

This kiss is a little stronger, more passionate, than the first. Luke’s hand moves from your cheek to the back of your neck as he holds you in place. You allow your hand to move to his arm, your nails grazing his skin as you allow the kiss to consume you. Before you realize what’s happening, Luke is moving forward and nudging you backward to lie flat against his couch. He shifts so that he’s between your legs, one of yours curling around his waist to allow both of you room, as he deepens the kiss. His hand moves to your waist, his fingers gentle against your skin as he gives a quick squeeze, before he pulls away and stares down at you.

 

“Are you sure about this?” he questions as his hands brush the hem of your t-shirt, “We can just watch a movie or something.”

 

“Luke,” you sigh as you reach up to wrap your arms around his neck, “I like you, a lot, and I would like to continue making out with you and have sex with you again. If you want to wait, that’s fine. I’m totally okay with waiting. But if you’re ready, I’m ready.”

 

“What happened to taking this slow?” he questions as he shifts out of the embrace and stands.

 

“You make me want to do things a little different sometimes,” you shrug as you take the hand he extends to you.

 

Neither of you say anything else as Luke leads you to his bedroom. You haven’t stepped foot in his bedroom since the night of the party and he can feel your gaze linger on the wall he’d fucked you against that night. With a slight frown on his lips, Luke reaches for your cheeks once more and rubs small circles against your skin. “I’m sorry about that night,” he breathes as he leans down to press a kiss to your forehead, “I was way too rough.”

 

“I wanted you to be rough, Luke,” you breathe as you glance up at him, “I liked it.”

 

“I know,” he sighs as he guides you to his bed and pulls you down beside him at the foot, “but that’s not how our first time together should’ve been, you know?”

 

“Then we’ll have a do-over,” you shrug as you allow your hand to drop to his shoulders, “something softer, nicer.”

 

Luke smiles at your words before he nods his agreement. “I like the sound of that,” he hums before he dips his head to brush your lips with his own. “Lie down for me, sweetheart,” he breathes as he moves back enough to allow you room to shimmy up the bed and settle in.

 

Luke stares at you for a moment, wanting to commit the sight of you before him to memory, before he joins you. His lips are back on yours in an instant, his hands finding your waist while yours tangle in his curly locks. The kiss lasts a lifetime, Luke’s hands barely straying as he commits the feeling of your lips against his to memory, and it only ends when you pull away to catch your breath. As you attempt to calm your heaving chest, Luke’s lips press soft kisses across your jawline, down the column of your throat, and only stop when he reaches the collar of your shirt.

 

“Can I?” he hums as he allows his fingers to dip lower, finding purchase in the hem of your shirt. When you nod your approval and sit up slightly, Luke tugs the material up and over your head before his lips are back on your skin. He’s careful this time, his lips and tongue and teeth a barely there pressure as he works across your skin. The only real pressures you feel are his hands traveling up your sides to rest below your covered breasts.

 

He takes his time as he pulls the royal blue bra from your chest and it takes all of your strength not to cover yourself as he leans back and stares down at you. As if he can sense the insecurity, Luke’s hands find your breasts as his lips find yours. “You’re so beautiful,” he breathes against your lips, “stunning. Every inch of you.”

 

Luke distracts you with a kiss as his fingers work at your nipples, pinching and tugging the sensitive buds until they harden from his ministrations. Once he’s satisfied, Luke pulls away from the kiss and resumes the earlier trail of kisses he’d started. His lips brush as much exposed skin as possible as he makes his way to the waistband of your shorts. You don’t even give him the chance to ask as you nod eagerly and shift in his grasp.

 

His fingers are gentle as he tugs the material of your shorts and panties down your legs. He tosses them to join your shirt before he tugs his own t-shirt up and over his head. Once he’s shimmied out of his jeans, he returns to his position between your thighs and begins placing kisses across your inner thighs.

 

“Luke,” you breathe as your fingers move to tangle in his hair, “as nice as this is, I really wish you’d do something. I want you.”

 

“I know,” he hums against your skin, “but I want to do this right. Patience is a virtue, sweetheart.”

 

Luke almost laughs at the whine that spills past your lips but doesn’t allow himself to lose focus. Instead, he returns to pressing kisses against your skin as his fingers move to your heat. Luke presses one hand flat against your stomach to hold your hips still as he slips a finger into your entrance. He loves how responsive you are for him and if he had all the time in the world, he’s decided that he’d spend it here, between your thighs. Instead, he knows that his time is limited. Therefore, he works in a second finger and begins his mission of preparing you.

 

He takes his time working you open as his mouth finds your clit. You almost scream at the feeling of him finally giving you what you want but before you can celebrate, Luke is already pulling away. “I’m sorry, sweetheart,” he breathes at the whine you release, “but I want you to cum around me. Do you want that?”

 

When you nod, Luke leans down to press a quick kiss to your lips before he reaches for a condom from the nightstand drawer. In what feels like no time at all, Luke is shoving his boxers off and settling back between your thighs. His forehead is pressed against yours, his lips kiss-swollen, and he looks beautiful. You can’t help yourself as you press a quick kiss to his lips before you breathe, “I want you, Luke. Please.”

 

Taking that as all of the confirmation he needs, Luke guides himself into your heat. It takes a moment, both of you have gone so long without sex that it’s a bit overwhelming, but when Luke is fully sheathed, he pauses and presses soothing kisses across your face.

 

“You look so beautiful,” he hums as he presses his lips to your forehead, “always, so beautiful. I’m so glad you gave me a chance.”

 

“Me, too,” you sigh as you shift beneath him, “so glad.”

 

When Luke feels you begin to squirm beneath him, he takes that as his cue to begin moving. His thrusts are nowhere near as hard or as fast as they were the first time the two of you slept together. Instead, Luke’s thrusts are slow and deep as he works to show you just how much he cares. One hand is on your hip, the other is rubbing circles against your clit, and his lips have yet to leave your skin as he pushes you closer and closer to orgasm. It’s almost embarrassing how quickly it’s all over but Luke is thankful when he feels you begin to clench around him because he knows that he can only hold out for so much longer.

 

“It’s okay, sweetheart,” he breathes when he sees you struggling to hold on, “let go for me. Cum around me, yeah? Let me feel you.”

 

At Luke’s encouraging words and the increased pressure of his fingers on your clit, you find yourself falling over the edge with a cry of his name. Luke watches, his eyes glued to your face, as you reach your peak and he can’t help falling over the edge soon after. Once the both of you have ridden out your orgasms, Luke pulls away from and you settles in beside you.

 

“The first time was great,” he breathes as he glances over at you, “but that was better, somehow.”

 

You hum your agreement and allow Luke to pull you into his side. “It was,” you agree as you rest your head on his chest, “it was nice. This is nice, being with you.”

 

“I’m glad you think so, sweetheart,” Luke hums, “it’s nice being with you, too. But there’s a small problem.” When Luke feels you tense against him, he shakes his head. “It’s not bad. I think it’s great. I just, I’m kind of falling in love with you and I know this isn’t the best time to tell you and I know you probably don’t feel that way yet but I just need you to tell me that you could fall in love with me some day. Tell me that you could fall in love with me and that you could see us being together and that’s all I need.”

 

You pause for a moment, trying to decide if you really could see that, and when you’re met with visions of the future, tangled in Luke’s arms with wedding bands on your fingers, you decide that you could. “I can see it,” you assure him, “not today and maybe not tomorrow, but I can see it. And it looks beautiful.”

**Author's Note:**

> This is the first 5sos fic I've written in ages, wow. It's so fun. I miss it.


End file.
